douglasmiami Posted May 13, 2004 Posted May 13, 2004 Any experiences or suggestions for replacement windshield wiper blades? I have a 1999 RX 300. The wiper blades are showing signs of wear. I would like to keep the stock wiper style, but don't know whether or not to get from Lexus or auto parts store. Or, if there are outstanding wiper blade products out there, I might be interested in trying. Thanks.
Fern Posted May 13, 2004 Posted May 13, 2004 Any wiper blade with silicone I have found to be good. Wiper blades turn bad when rubber gets hard and brittle. PIA or BOSCH, etc... are all good. The other thing I do to improve wiper blade performance is get washer fluid with RAINX it makes a HUGE difference... Washer fluid with RAINX costs about 4 times more than conventional but how often do you really top up the reservoir? It was raining cats and dogs last week and I had the Bimmer out on the highway at 150km and didn't even have to use the wipers, thanks to the Rainx... its amazing! Cheers, Fern
msmith1086 Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 I seem to get streeks after a couple of months, even with the premium blades, so I don't think they are worth it.
SW03ES Posted May 14, 2004 Posted May 14, 2004 Believe it or not the longest lasting blades I've had are the OEM Toyota ones from the dealer. Buy them from Toyota though because Lexus charges an insane price.
steviej Posted May 15, 2004 Posted May 15, 2004 Believe it or not the longest lasting blades I've had are the OEM Toyota ones from the dealer. Buy them from Toyota though because Lexus charges an insane price. I totally disagree. I purchased a set of OEM blades from Toyota and they were not the same as the Lexus blades. The Toyota blades were heavier, thicker, and blacker. They constantly made a dry rubber squeak sound with the slightest bit of water. I went to Lexus and bought the blade inserts thinking they would fit the OEM Toyota arm, and they didn't. The arm was the proper length but wider then the Lexus arm, so the inserts were too skinny. I ended up buying new Lexus arms. Now all that I have to do in the future is just but the inserts when needed. I have tried Bosch Micro Edge and even spent the money for PIAA. The Lexus brand blades rank in my book as number one. PIAAs were nice but they didn't last as long as I thought. The silicone that you have to wipe on the window (acts like rainX) also anchors bugs and dirt. More wiper fluid needed to simply clear minimal dirt. I also found that the application of RainX accelerated the degredation of the rubber blade. However, RainX is very swift in its sheeting abilitly. Simple solution is just buy the Lexus inserts from you Lexus dealer. sorry, just my 2¢ steviej
SW03ES Posted May 15, 2004 Posted May 15, 2004 Really? I never tried to buy them from Toyota I just figured they would be the same. You learn something new every day! My Lexus dealer includes wiper inserts as part of normal service every 15k but I paid $97 one time to have them changed on my dad's LS for him, hence where my insane price came from. What did Lexus charge you for the blades?
steviej Posted May 16, 2004 Posted May 16, 2004 the Lexus inserts are $9 and $11 (20 and 24 inches respectively). The arms (with inserts) were $18 and $23 (he threw in a discount cause i am jokingly known around that dealership as the service manager's pain in the !Removed!). In discussions with the parts manager, he said the regular Toyota blades are just rubber where as the Lexus blades are a Teflon/rubber compound. The service guy did show me one 24 inch are that had a wing/scoop on it, that was $60. Really nice looking. Then, I told him I didn't think it was for an ES......he said oops, thought you had a GS. steviej
SW03ES Posted May 17, 2004 Posted May 17, 2004 That prices them about the same as aftermarket blades then, not too bad.
sgriffith Posted May 19, 2004 Posted May 19, 2004 I need to replace them on my RX as well....if I got the inserts from the Lexus dealer would I have to replace the arms as well? I have a F150 (the RX is the wife's) and replaced them myself but wasn't satisfied with the fit/finish compared to the factory oem blades. So I want to go with the Lexus parts, but didn't know if I had to replace the arms. Thanks!
bluestu Posted June 17, 2004 Posted June 17, 2004 Advance Auto Parts sells the Bosch Micro Edge which I've found to work fine and look very similar to the originals. They will install them for free.
sgriffith Posted June 17, 2004 Posted June 17, 2004 I have also read (but yet to try) that you should use the 303 Wiper Treatments...it is supposed to keep your blades pliable not by lubricating them properly. They can be purchased at lexuscarcare.com for around $4. Probably well worth the money.
SW03ES Posted June 17, 2004 Posted June 17, 2004 I just put the Bosch's on my ES and they are HORRIBLE. Worst wipers I've ever had. Just stick with the Lexus ones I haven't been able to find anything else worth using.
sgriffith Posted July 6, 2004 Posted July 6, 2004 I just purchased two wiper blades for the front of my RX from a Lexus dealer (around $19 and they installed them) and I noticed they came in a toyota bag. Previous discussions on this topic mentioned "Lexus" wiper blades....would they still carry the Toyota brand (as mine did) or would the look like most other Lexus parts & be in a Toyota bag/box? I am assuming I got the good ones, but wanted to know for future reference.
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